Formatting Requirements for Term Papers

PAPERS THAT DO NOT FOLLOW THESE FORMATTING AND EDITING GUIDELINES WILL SUFFER A REDUCED GRADE!!! Every single quarter, there are numerous students whose paper grades suffer unnecessarily because they didn't follow instructions or c PRonform to standard grammar, punctuation, etc. This kind of point loss is very avoidable. If you don't understand an instruction, a rule in a manual or on the Editing Tips page, send me a question, or check with a tutor in the Writing Lab. PRINT THIS CHECKLIST OUT, CHECK OFF ITEMS AS YOU EDIT YOUR PAPER, AND HAND IT IN STAPLED TO THE BACK OF YOUR PAPER.

If you don't know how to change any of these things, consult your word processor's Help function. I can help with Apple computers, but not Windows machines.

____ Black ink

____ Stapled top left corner. No paper clips.

____ Length: 9-12 pp., excluding photocopies

____ Typed

____ Double-spaced (not 1.5)

____ Font: 12-pt. Times, Times Roman, or Times New Roman. NO OTHER FONT WILL BE ACCEPTED.

____ Margins: 1" or 1.25" all around

____ Cover: no report cover or cover page

____ Align subsection titles at left margin. Subtitles in boldface; 12-pt. font.

____ Do not skip extra lines between subsections.

____ Do not break to a new page for a new subsection unless there is less than about an inch at the bottom of the page.

____ DO break to a new page if the only thing at the bottom of a page is a new subtitle.

____ Paragraphing: Avoid page-long paragraphs. Break up.

____ Indent paragraphs; do not skip a line between them.

____ Do not use "styles". Set "Style" to "Normal." Don't allow your word processor to indent paragraphs more than 1.25" from left.

PROOFREAD:

____ Use spell-check. Do NOT use grammar checkers. They are wrong half the time.

____ Consult my Editing Tips page (http://cla.calpoly.edu/~jrubba/Editing_tips.html). IF ERRORS OCCUR IN YOUR PAPER THAT ARE REMEDIED ON THIS PAGE, YOU WILL LOSE POINTS; THE MORE ERRORS, THE MORE POINTS.